To Pick a Contractor, Play Detective

Check references. With home improvement contractors, that means inspecting work they've done elsewhere, not just talking to people on the phone.

Check that the contractor is licensed. (You can do that on your state or county Web site.) Double-check that the name and license number on the contractor's materials match the person on file.

Once you've narrowed your choices, look into whether there are complaints against the company at the local or state consumer protection office or with the Better Business Bureau.

Don't stop there. "I wouldn't do business with anyone I haven't Googled," Eric said. "Sometimes you get too much information, but it's so easy to do, there's no reason not to."

He recommends that after you've made your choice, pay as little up front as possible, pay by credit card and hold back money until the job is done. If you have problems, firmly tell your contractor what they are. If things don't improve, complain to the appropriate consumer agency.

This all sounds like a full-time job, doesn't it? Eric agrees. "Bottom line, it's becoming harder and harder to be a good consumer," he said.

He had one other observation: "We tend to forget we're members of the animal kingdom, and we have instincts." After a bad consumer experience we often think, There was something about that guy that seemed kind of fishy.

"People seem to dismiss instinct over book knowledge," Eric said. "Consumers really need to trust those instincts."